Need a custom label for a wedding, non-profit event, business gift or product launch? Kirkland based, Northwest Cellars provides award winning wine with personalized labels! Founder Bob Delf spent 30 years in the software industry and worked as a CEO at three different companies. Bob’s passion for wine, keen business sense, and unique business model came together with wine makers Dave Moore and Robert Smasne to form Northwest Cellars in 2004. Bob and his wife Kathleen do all the blending work to bring their creation to market. I was introduced to Northwest Cellars initially on Twitter. Bob participated in […]

Some of the best Rieslings I’ve ever had were tasted last week! I say that with the disclaimer that I’ve had Riesling from Washington, Oregon, Michigan, and a few from Germany. I’m not a Riesling authority, but from what I know about wine, from what I understand of my palate, from what I tasted, the six New York Finger Lakes Rieslings presented during #FLXwine were top notch in consistency, quality, clarity, balance, and flavor! What I find odd is that when I traveled 2800 miles to the largest city in the US, no one had Finger Lakes wine on the […]

Exploring new wine is one of the greatest joys of being a wine lover. When it comes to beer, 90% of the beer sold in the US is Bud, Coors and Miller. There are about 1500 breweries in the US, but there are more than 4000 wineries and each of them produces several grape varieties and blends. To top it off, each year the process starts over again with new vintages and the subtleties that come with the new year. Possibly 250,000 different wine products are produced annually. You could drink a case of different wine every day and […]

Don’t be such a sissy, it’s okay to drink pink wine! In fact if dudes were smart, they would jump on board the pink parade for one reason…the ladies dig pink. We’re not talking about your sweet and fruity Sutter Homes White Zinfandel kind of pink, we’re talking real, masculine, dry, flavorful, intense Rose of Sangiovese, Syrah, Grenache, and more. Gaining an appreciation for pink will open up your palate to a whole new tasting experience. Rosé is made from red wine grapes. The most common method of production is leaving the skin in contact with the juice for 2-3 […]

Spokane’s Barrister Winery has released four new wines for 2010. These new releases are a showcase for why Barrister is getting worldwide attention for their consistency of quality, character, structure, and flavor. When co-owner and co-winemaker Greg Lipsker asked if I was interested in previewing the new releases, I had to calm myself before answering with a resounding YES! Greg and Mike are responsible for some of my favorite wines. Their Rough Justice blend was my January wine of the month. Barrister is located in an historic 100 year old building in Spokane’s downtown core (Railroad Ave, west of […]